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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I was fortunate and extremely giddy to receive ARC's of the first two stories in the Children of the Undying series. I'm going to admit that I was a bit scared. What if I didn't like the series? This is a new project with no shifters. No. Shifters. So, I started Demon Bait slowly, paying attention to detail, and before I even realized it I didn't miss the shifters. Not one little bit. I was focused on the new world, the new characters and I loved it.

After I finished Demon Bait I contacted the authors about an interview, and they sent me the ARC for Hammerdown to read first. While I loved Demon Bait, Hammerdown blew me away. As soon as I finished it, I sent off a few questions, which are below. After the interview I have my thoughts and more information on the series.

BRENDA: Howdy Bree and Donna! I just finished the ARC's of Demon Bait and Hammer Down. My mind is reeling from thinking about this new world you guys have created. It's fascinating, kick ass and heartbreaking all at the same time.

How long did it take you to get the details of this new world worked out? Did it build slowly, or was it one of those mind explosion type of deals?

BREE: This one certainly built slowly. We actually spent a lot of 2009 slowly planning it. We knew we wanted demons walking the earth and to mix an apocalypse with a high-tech dystopian future, but we spent a lot of time putting all the pieces together and then developing our characters.

BRENDA: This is a darker world where the characters interact virtually as well as skin to skin. Did you have moments of "will the reader get that?" I thought you did a wonderful job making a complex world that was still easy to understand. Was that difficult?

BREE: There are always moments where you have to worry if the readers will get something, especially when writing speculative fiction. World building is a tricky thing, and too much or too little can ruin a book. Of course, how much is the right amount is always in the eye of the reader. As a reader, I’d rather be confused than bored, so I write that way and hope readers will trust that I know what’s going on and will get them there eventually. (And in a series, not always in the first book!)

BRENDA: This world is considered cyberpunk? I've been trying to learn more about the different genre categories and it can get confusing. I'm guessing this would be paranormal romance with a cyberpunk theme?

BREE: Your guess is as good as mine! No, really. Donna and I rarely write books that fit cleanly into genres, and are fortunate enough to have an editor and readers who don’t mind.

As for these books, I’d say they’re apocalyptic romance first. Paranormal, definitely, though with ambiguous magic born of angels and demons, not our usual brand of wizards and shapeshifters. The cyberpunk is also a theme, but a slightly smaller one.

BRENDA: Okay, be honest. Did you guys come to blows over this series? I picture it something like this:

"OMG, enough with the virtual sex. I want skin to skin!!!"

"You know nothing. Virtual is the way to go."

"Don't make me throw this flash drive at you again!"

"Flash drive? I'll throw this fricking hard drive at your head!"

Perhaps this is just how things go in my head, so let's hear what it was really like. *snicker*

DONNA: Actually? There are characters in this universe for whom virtual sex is awesome. Others can take it or leave it (like Marci). And still others, like Devi and Zel, want the sweaty real thing. So it’s like...asking which flavor ice cream is best. LOL

BRENDA: Thanks for taking the time to chat. I loved Demon Bait and Hammer Down, and can't wait to see what comes next.